Ipswich and West Moreton Division of General Practice CEO Sharon Oxenbridge wasn’t surprised by the findings and said it was a concern.

“If people are obese or carrying a lot of weight there can be repercussion in other areas,” Ms Oxenbridge said.

“That includes diabetes and some forms of cancer are associated with obesity.”

She said was difficult to put her finger on the cause of Ipswich’s weighty problem..

“Areas of high obesity are often linked to low socio-economic conditions but that doesn’t necessarily apply to this area,” she said.

“I think it’s more indicative of the normal Western diet and attributable to our lifestyle.

“We have terrific areas in Ipswich and south-east Queensland with parks, walking groups and other fitness programs and the Ipswich Hospital Foundation does a lot of work to get the community fit and active.

“Obesity is becoming a national and international epidemic.”

Ms Oxenbridge said the Queensland Health figures should prompt people to take a long hard look at their figures.

“It’s a good time of the year for people to implement their New Year resolution and seek advice from their GP and avoid problems further down the track,” she said.

“The GP is often seen as the last port of call when they fall ill, in this case from being obese. We would encourage people to go to the GP first.”

Ipswich man Scott McCoombes admitted to being overweight but clearly didn’t mind as he played poker with his mates yesterday.

“I’m the butt of pretty much every joke in this place. It’s all right though. I don’t mind,” he said.